Heroes of Darkness
by Malkor13
Summary: Remnant is not exactly as we've seen it. New threats and allies emerge, the history we thought we understood holds new depths, with implications for both good and evil. Join our cast as they grow through adversity, the trauma of a hunter's responsibilities and plenty of humour. Chaos follows in the wake of a terribly eccentric man who claims to be a friend from above.
1. Friend, buddy, guy, trust in me

**RWBY: Heroes of Darkness **

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**Hello, there reader. I humbly welcome you to my first fanfiction. After reading a few hundred all for this series I decided to try my own hand at the writing process here as practice for when I write my own stories. My goal is to publish something regularly after developing a schedule and learn from the process and peer reviews. This story will feature a few original characters I will do my utmost to fit within existing lore and have developed personalities and intriguing stories. Much of the focus will remain on their interactions with the established cast. That all being said, some points on how powers work and the specifics of politics, history and other background pieces I will change for my taste and the mystery of it. Now on with the show.**

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'Finally, I'm nearly there, through all the risks and regrets, even walking this path alone without guidance I fly towards the beginning of my chapter in the family legacy. Now if I can just hold my lunch long enough to land…uurrghk' Jaune despaired sitting on a bullhead airship to Beacon Academy for Huntsman as he hoped to make it to a garbage bin before he loosed his guts on a stranger.

A hand came to rest on his shoulder before another patted his back as a soothing raspy voice mused "You're looking green friend and I fear I wear that colour better than you."

Jaune glanced over his shoulder body uncurled from holding himself together to gaze upon a Faunus man dressed in black purple traditional Vacuan dancing clothes that hugged a very tall, lanky frame. A thick blood-red sash holding multi-colour patterns wrapped around him while dust jeweled gold bracelets clinked on his limbs. Now Jaune didn't normally focus on Faunus traits. He thought them as unique as hair colour or clothes, something to be appreciated, but not obsess over. However, the dark purple-red scales that coiled around the man's skin in a long decorative band refracted light like a kaleidoscope and the greenish glow was distracting from the terrible sickness.

"Ssee, something you like buddy or perhapsss you're disgusted an animal is touching you?" The reptilian Faunus questioned with a knowing smirk.

"Oh gosh, sorry, no I would never think, I mean they look great! Not that that's the only thing I noticed, I mean uh sorry." Jaune lamely stumbled out. 'The first person to actually help me and I act like a racist bumpkin and stare.'

"Ksssshsshsh, Sssorry guy, I just couldn't help a bit of teasing. What'sss your name friend?" The man asked, long folding fangs making his lisp pronounced after laughing.

'Of course, he's making fun of me, what else is new. At least he seems in a good mood let's not mess up like usual.' Jaune thought before taking a calming breath. "Well the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies love it." he exclaimed. 'Nailed it, just like Dad.' He figured his practiced greeting would clear the air for a solid start to a new friend. He didn't expect the Faunus to double over laughing, tears in his eyes, as his scales shimmered a white light while he slapped his knee.

"Kassshaahhaaha, you really said it. Ah man, I've been sssso nervous what to ssay and you just drop the line. Thanks, buddy. I truly needed that." The man said as he cleared his throat.

Jaune shot the stranger an unamused glare as his cheeks reddened. "Harr harr, glad to make your day."

"Hey now, don't look so embarrassed guy, anybody with an ounce of red in their hair is sure to be charmed. Look mine'sss got some in there so you're clear." The strange dark-skinned fellow shook the many black and red braids that hung from his head that bleached into light purple and bone white respectively. The larger among them were weaved with gold dragon themed beads.

"If we're all done laughing at Jaune maybe you can tell me your name?" Jaune stated sourly.

The man paused, startled by the request as if he didn't have an answer. "How rude of me, why don't we try Azhi Dahakaa, hmm, or Zee for short. To show I'm no fair-weather friend I give you this if you'll trussst in me enough to take it. Should help with the stomach when I sstop entrancing you." Zee offered a small root with a sharp smell he produced from his robe pockets as his eyes and scales stopped shifting colours and settled on a smooth dried blood purple-red.

Jaune looked to the strange gift with reluctance to accept. 'Man, I heard hunter folk are eccentric but this guy's weird by any standard.' "What do you mean trance?" Jaune questioned before turbulence rocked the airship and his stomach nearly flopped out of his mouth mid-sentence. Suddenly the weird root looked far more appetizing than the prospect of tasting lunch twice and he stuffed it in his mouth and chewed the strong taste of raw ginger. The pungent plant blasted any feelings of queasiness and replaced his headache with the heated feeling of intense spice. "Wooo! That is really strong." he exclaimed with a cough.

"Sure to put some hair on your chin for the ladies, buddy. I chew mine the start of every flight. Kept me alert on the whole trip from Shade Academy to Vale. What you're munching wasss for this trip but it looked like you needed it more than I." Zee breathed as he leaned his head back looking progressively ill.

"You suffer from motion sickness too?" Jaune asked excited to find a fellow struggler. "Wait, you really just gave me the last of your miracle cure, we could have shared man." he suggested not wanting to be a burden.

"Nah guy, a sslight headache is worth my new friend not being known as vomit boy forever. Sssides, ginger muncher is a way funnier joke if all goes well with the ladies or ladsss, I'm not judging. Frankly, I should have brought extra on the off chance. Just glad you made the choice to try it before things got messsy." Zee sighed and chuckled to himself before he closed his eyes and tried to relax.

Jaune coughed at the innuendo his face already flushed from the spice. "Vomit boy, yikes. That kind of name sticks worse than the puke I bet. I won't let your sacrifice be forgotten Zee, I owe you one, and an Arc never goes back on his word," Jaune proclaimed glad to have made a new, albeit bizarre, friend.

"Hehe. I'll bank it for later Jaune, but thanks. I am looking to tour around Beacon grounds a bit more after the main crowd clears, look for some others in need, maybe catch a light show. You care to join me buddy, your choice." Zee asked nails clutched on the armrest tight as he stared out the window.

"Sure Zee, us motion sick guys gotta stick together." Jaune replied while he studied Zee's paled body. 'Man he's got it that bad and he still helped me, some random guy. Meeting people like this means coming here was the right choice. If my transcripts hold up, maybe we'll share some classes.' Jaune thought to himself as he appreciated the mid-flight view of Beacon's extraordinary tower for the first time in his life.

So taken with inspiration was he that the black ichor which dripped from a dangerous fanged smile held by his new companion went unnoticed.

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**Hey you who skipped to the bottom, good to see you. Try reading the stuff above, it may be good for a laugh.**

**To those who read this brief opening chapter, know I spent about 7 hours straight writing it out, most of it adjusting grammar and tense. I hope it was a good experience for you and it would truly mean the world to me if you could leave a comment of any kind. Could just say 'hi', or 'it's shit', or 'can't wait for the next one'. Feeling bold? Follow and favourite, perhaps leave a more detailed explanation of what you thought and would like to see going forward. Once again, I thank you for stopping by and hope to host you again soon.**


	2. Volatile Collision, Immutable Fate

**Hello. Been some time since I last updated. Lotta procrastination after a bad cold. had the whole chapter written over a week ago and just forced myself now to get it out there. Also finished plotting the entire overarching story and themes, though specific events will still take time to hash out. Anyway, please enjoy and comment.**

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A young girl in her early teens stood legs wobbling, overwhelmed by the new environment of Beacon's massive grounds and all the confusion her recent opportunities brought. Left to navigate for herself after the (temporary) abandonment of her dearest sister Yang, Ruby Rose collapsed and her melodramatic fall turned hazardous as she knocked over a stack of Dust cases. Precious glass containers of refined energy crystals spilled out and the Dust filled the air.

The cases belonged to some snooty girl in a bright white jacket with red inner lining and combat dress like puffy snowflakes that insisted on chastising Ruby without pause while waving the dropped bottles in front of her face.

'What's going on? I just want her to stop yelling and shoving Dust in my face.' Ruby whined internally. Unable to get a word in edgewise, an apocalyptic sneeze crept up in Ruby's nose until an explosion of the elements erupted, burnt through both their auras and covered them in a fine layer of soot.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" The snobby princess cried out filled with all the pain of injustice only the truly spoiled can stuff in a sentence.

Her shrill exclamation was mirrored by the approaching deep jovial voice which rasped as if the speaker drank sand-like Ruby's uncle chugged booze.

"Kaashahaha, ahahaha. I told you to give it a sec Jaune. My goodnesss, she was just waving it about _while _lecturing her! The irony is too rich, I'm ssstuffed. Oho, ohoho…" A dark-skinned man with snaking red plum coloured scale patterns and a multi-coloured sash around his torso bellowed out, black and red braided locks swaying while he slapped the back of his friend. The young man next to him seemed his antithesis with pale skin, blond messy hair and blue eyes wide in astonishment at the accident as they both continued walking closer.a

The pair seemed to finally get the Ice Queen's ire locked on to something else as she stomped towards the duo exclaiming "Excuse me, and who do you think you are to laugh at this situation? Why didn't you help if you saw, do you even know who I am?!"

'If that guy's smirk is the same as Uncle Qrow's, he knows exactly who you are and doesn't care princess.' Ruby thought smugly to herself hoping for some retribution after being taken to task over an accident.

Her questioning snapped blonde boy out of his trance and he shook his head. "How could one not recognize an angel crafted of finest snow, _mon chére_. The name's Jaune Arc, a humble _Chavalier_ looking to serve the heaven-sent _La Princesse._" He stated with a deep bow and flourish.

Snow Angel was having none of it "When I find myself in need of a knight who reeks like they live to eat ginger, you'll be the first to know." Weiss promptly replied and froze him out to glare at the snakeskin guy who continued laughing his head off with renewed vigour. Ruby couldn't help but giggle at the blonde's antics as well. He was like some dorky knight from a daytime drama.

Jaune deflated in shock and shuffled his broken-hearted body over to Ruby. Ruby saw his face regain a gentle smile as he lent a hand to help her up. "Why thank you, Ginger Knight." she said daintily as her inner Yang reared up.

"I guess it's still better than Vomit boy." He sighed in resignation. Ruby was glad to not be there for whatever story gave him that name. Didn't mean she wouldn't remember it.

Their friendly banter was ended by Weiss whose tolerance had boiled over at being laughed at and ranted "Of course a Faunus is all too eager to jab at me, or are you just hanging around to snatch some free Dust? I bet you don't even know how to use the cheap trash in that rag you wrap yourself in!"

Ruby could only gasp and cringe. Weiss clearly had some deeprooted issues with Faunus, which is not okay, but insulting a hunter's weapon is the most blasphemous thing you could do! We train for lifetimes to master our ever-evolving partner and channel our aura through it till it's a part of our soul and body as much as any limb. Ruby felt her hand pat Crescent Rose in assurance.

"I'm not the one who exploded and decided to pin the blame, Weisssss." The man hissed gently, drawing on her name with overfamiliarity as his plum scales began violently shifting patterns while his easy smile grew twisted and voice sickly sweet.

"Your grandfather loved this scarf dearly Weissssss, he'd be so dissssssapointed to see you acting dissssresspectful to your fellow person. I'm not eager to laugh at you because I'm a Faunus. I'm laughing at you because you've still got that multi-action toothpick up your ass and your scum father in your head. Sssso congested a sneeze literally had you explode!"

Ruby and Jaune both stood a little too shocked to laugh at first till they exploded but the laughter stopped when they noticed that Weiss's furious shaking had numbed and she stood with an unnatural dopey slack staring into the man's face as he took her hands and began a simple waltz. Ruby looked to Jaune hoping he would step in only to notice he too was entranced. This didn't feel like fun anymore.

"Come here, friend, show the lady your moves. I'll talk dowry with her daddy dearest if she fancies you after a spin" He commanded Jaune as he led him over to cut in on a waltz he had begun with Weiss roping him in with his dust woven sash. Jaune obeyed without the pomp he put on previously, dancing in step quite skillfully despite his first impression of clumsiness while the frightening man continued on humming.

Ruby's keen eyes noted how the dust that was being collected by Weiss's servants seemed to glow and rattle like his scarf as the man's speech turned darker. and prepared for things to escalate with fingers in position on her precious weapon for a quick draw. Thankfully the mention of her father seemed to snap Weiss back in control with a flinch. "I'm not some prize to be sold off!" She spat in defiance throwing Jaune away from herself as he tumbled head over heels and landed on his butt dazed.

"You're Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." A cool voice replied, coming from a beautifully monochromatic dressed young lady with pale skin and black hair waving past her shoulders and a large bow on her head.

"Finally. Some recognition." Weiss muttered after she sucked in a breath, able to control herself once more.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners." Ruby heard as the mystery lady continued, holding out a Dust bottle lost in the sneeze explosion as if it were a bug.

Weiss Schnee attempted to form a flustered response as her face went red and Ruby began to take pity on her. 'Even if Weiss said too much, that guy was being a creepy jerk. It was kinda my fault we got into this mess. Now everyone's ganging up on her and it feels bad.'

"Hey, um, Weiss, right? I really _am_ sorry about knocking your stuff over... and the explosion. I mean, that company stuff probably isn't even your choice I bet. Your suit guys have cleaned up all the Dust already. We're all new here, trying to become hunters and huntresses to protect the people. Maybe we can just, I dunno, start over?" Ruby mumbled loudly in an attempt of settling the situation.

Weiss paused for a moment in consideration to judge between the mocking Faunus, thickheaded blonde, and silent judging young woman.

'C'mon Ice Queen, I'm trying to help. We both look lame, just give me an inch here.' Ruby mentally begged.

"What was your name again?" Weiss questioned with a stern gaze.

'Got her' Ruby gloated as she turned on the full Rose-Xiao-Long charm, silver puppy eyes growing so wide Weiss could see herself reflected in them looking flustered and in need of an ally. "Ruby Rose, huntress in training." she replied with her best cookie bargaining voice.

An ally that had somehow struck a chord with the more maternal side of Weiss and clearly needed to be escorted away from these other unapologetic ruffians.

After snatching her dust vial back from the newest offender in black, Weiss turned sharply to Ruby and stated formally "It is a pleasure to meet you Ruby Rose. I am Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and currently a huntress in training till I can remake a better name for my grandfather's legacy. Why don't you tell me more about how you were accepted so young into Beacon while we leave these… onlookers to themselves." Weiss finished and marched off with a firm hand on Ruby's shoulder.

'And I'll take a mile!' Ruby boasted, internally cheering while her outward appearance remained shy.

"It's no big deal, my knees are normal Weiss, I just happened to hold up Roman Torchwick for a bit." Ruby humble bragged.

"That gaudy reprobate who's been harassing my family's dust stores?! It seems we are meant to associate Ruby; I'll have to ensure your success in this new environment." Weiss declared nose held high as she wrapped up the bumbling red teen in her dramatic exit.

Ruby glanced back and smiled with a parting wave at the blonde ginger eating knight who was waving goodbye slack-jawed before trying to chat up the aura image left by dark-haired girl while his odd friend went back to snickering. 'Poor guy must be even more socially awkward than me. Maybe he and his sword do something super secret and cool. His friend definitely seemed to use dust very well, but how specifically?' her thoughts trailing on all the new weaponry she just encountered as Weiss lectured about the history of Beacon's amphitheatre when they entered.

'Maybe Yang was onto something, spreading my wings was a good idea. I may fall, but I may make a new friend or two as a result. Not that I'll ever let her lord an 'I told you so' that big over me.' Ruby pondered optimistically while examining her new BFF who had a- "Multi-Action Dust Rapier! Oh my goodness can I hold it?! Please, please, please, please, with strawberries on top?"

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**Heyo, great to see you down here. You read that stuff? If you did, hope you had fun and fav/follow to stick around. Either way, it truly does mean the world to me when I receive even a single comment so please do share whatever thoughts you have no matter how minor or major. I will be updating with a weekly frequency if I get a response. This idea has grown too much in my head to hold it so it's gotta get out into the web.**


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